Norfolk Rotary Sunrise celebrates 30 years

This year’s annual Invasion of the Dragons, organized by Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise, will take place in Waterford on June 21, 2026. 

Chris Abbott

Editor

Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise will be celebrating its 30th anniversary on May 28.

Sunrise members, past members, and charter members will be gathering at a farm near Wilsonville, where they will decorate a riding barn for their anniversary event.

“It will be an evening to reminisce,” said Keith Jones, chair of the Rotary Norfolk Sunrise 30th anniversary committee, and a charter member – one of about five Sunrise charter members currently in the roughly 45-member club.

“We’re going to get folks back together for a low-key evening and do a dinner catered by Tracy Winkworth, so it’s going to be a topnotch dinner, and we’ll have a little entertainment.”

Rotary members will also share some of their ‘best, funny moments.’

“We’ll entertain ourselves,” he laughed.

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Active and progressive both describes Rotary Clubs in Norfolk County.

“There are two Rotary Clubs in Norfolk. There is Rotary Club of Simcoe, which has been in existence for over 100 years, they meet at noon on Mondays, and our club, just 30 years old, we meet Tuesday mornings at 7 o’clock at Riversyde 83 in Simcoe.”

When the Sunrise club started in 1996, a lot of its members were working, Jones noted.

“It worked out very well to meet at 7 o’clock in the morning and be out by 8:15. It really fit our schedule well for many of us who were working. And now, for those of us in retirement, it’s nice to get it done and over early… and we have a social gathering at Riversyde. By the time our meeting is over, they are open so we can have some coffee, breakfast or anything you want, and we sit around and have a chat. So it’s a nice time of day.”

‘We are Sunrisers,’ is a club slogan.

Guest speakers are usually introduced about 7:05, he noted, so it’s a good idea to be on time.

The service club’s motto ‘Service above Self.’ “We do all kinds of things in the community. Some of them are fundraisers – we raise some money, give back to the community – and we have a lot of social and fellowship events.

“One of the great projects we have is Coats for Kids. We get hundreds and hundreds of coats donated, and we have them cleaned and maintained – we have a great partnership for that. They have been great to us. Then we give these coats away.”

One of their major fundraisers is Catch the Ace, held every Friday at the Port Dover Legion.

“It’s been a tremendous success and we have donated over $250,000 back into the community, raised from Catch the Ace.”

The annual Waterford Dragon Boat Festival (Invasion of the Dragons – June 21, 2026), led by Rotarian Gail Catherwood, has become a huge summer event, supporting a cancer support group.

“It’s a great day, but there’s a lot of work to it to get it ready,” said Jones. “It’s a big one for us.”

Males and females are welcome at the club, he said, noting Rotary has evolved over the years. It’s not just for businessmen, or business people, it’s for people from all walks of life.

“The women have been a really important part of our club, and they take quite a leadership role.”

In addition to local causes, the local Rotary clubs support Rotary International.

“We do great work outside of the community, too,” said Jones. “Operation Eyesight is a big one for us, really big. We put a lot of time, money and effort into Operation Eyesight.

“The other big one (internationally) has been PolioPlus. We keep saying ‘we’re almost there,’ then there are outbreaks in various parts of the world. Rotary has had a huge impact on Polio treatment and research into Polio. We concentrate on the children and PolioPlus has been a big, big part of the Rotary international scene.”

For more information on the Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise, visit their website at Norfolksunrise.org. The club will hold a barbecue about the third week of August in Waterford, then begin meetings for the 2026-27 year.